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business newsDot-Com Swoon: More Students Studying Computer Science
By
Scott Reeves Mar 18, 2009 12:05 pm
Enrollment up 6% this year.
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The Computing Research Association, a Washington, DC-based trade group of about 200 university computer science departments, says total enrollment by majors and pre-majors in US computer science programs is up 6.2% over last year. If only majors are considered, enrollment is up 8.1%.
This is the first time since the dot-com bust that enrollment in undergraduate computer science programs has increased.
"Economic conditions have changed considerably since last year,” the Computing Research Association says in its report. “How this will affect new PhD hiring in both industry and academia remains to be seen. With the exception of diversity, our discipline entered these changed economic conditions from a position of strength. This should help us cope with the times much better than most.”
The trade group says only 11.8% of computer science degrees were awarded to women and about 66% were awarded to white males.
The great unknown: Will the Internet and popular technologies such as Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone and Research in Motion’s (RIMM) BlackBerry lead more young people to study computer science, or do kids just see the smartphones as toys?
Computing Research Association also represents government research labs and major technology companies, including Microsoft (MFST), Google (GOOG) and IBM (IBM).
Declining enrollment of computer science students in US schools and strong demand has forced many companies to look overseas for techie talent. The increased number of students preparing for careers in computer science may change that in the future. But there will be no immediate miracles, and the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded in computer science this year is expected to be lower than previous years because students shunned the major after the dot-com bust.
USA Today reports that some computer science classes at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh now have waiting lists of up to 40 students.
It’s unclear where the additional computer science students are coming from, but anecdotal evidence suggests some students are turning away from business studies.
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